Category Archives: Saudi Arabia

Russian strikes show Moscow does not want ‘real peace’, says Zelenskyy

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Ukraine’s president says drone attacks just hours after ceasefire talks were ‘a clear signal to the whole world’

Ukraine’s president has accused Russia of being insincere about making peace as he reported an attack by 117 drones, before he headed to Paris for a discussion with EU and Nato leaders about establishing a post-conflict security force.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that launching nationwide strikes after negotiations over maritime and energy ceasefires was proof of Russia’s true intentions, though the Kremlin insisted the US-brokered talks were proceeding constructively.

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US and Russia begin talks in Saudi Arabia on Ukraine ceasefire

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Uncertainty remains over how and when 30-day halt on energy strikes would take effect amid a gulf on expectations

US and Russian officials have begun talks in Saudi Arabia as Donald Trump pushes to broker a limited ceasefire that Washington hopes will mark the first step toward lasting peace in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a one-month halt on strikes on energy infrastructure after Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders last week. But uncertainty remains over how and when the partial ceasefire would take effect – and whether its scope would extend beyond energy infrastructure to include other critical sites, such as hospitals, bridges, and vital utilities.

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Saudi Arabia is hosting more Ukraine talks – but how neutral is it?

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The US and Ukraine will meet in Jeddah next week, but the Saudi crown prince’s closeness to Putin is a concern

On the surface, the announcement that Saudi Arabia will host talks between the US and Ukraine in Jeddah next week appears promising news.

After the disastrous meeting between the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Donald Trump in the White House last week, a more neutral location for this meeting of lower-level figures makes sense in terms of trying to dial down the temperature.

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Ukraine and Europe made to sit outside as US and Russia sharpen their carving knives

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In this back-to-the-future world, Russia is fully restored to the top table, while the US envoys outdo each other to praise Trump

Ukraine was laid out on the glossy conference table in Riyadh on Tuesday, not to be dissected on this occasion, but rather for an initial inspection by the Americans and Russians, who have reserved the carving knives for future use.

No Ukrainians were present for these opening discussions on the country’s fate, or for the lunch of whole lamb and “symphony of scallops”, nor was anyone there representing the rest of the European continent. Whether they will be given a seat at the table before lines are drawn is far from clear. For now, they must wonder if they are among the “irritants” in US-Russia relations referred to by the US state department.

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Latest Israeli hostages to be freed named amid uncertainty over truce

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Iair Horn, Sasha Troufanov and Sagui Dekel-Chen due to be exchanged for 369 Palestinian prisoners

Palestinian militant groups have named the three hostages they plan to free on Saturday in return for the release of 369 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, raising hopes that the January ceasefire agreement will survive its latest crisis.

However, the longer-term prospects of the truce remain in doubt and the uncertainty has been deepened by the US president, Donald Trump, who made surprise territorial claims over Gaza.

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Leeds student jailed in Saudi Arabia for 34 years over tweets is released

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Salma al-Shehab was arrested in 2021 during holiday in Saudi Arabia

A Saudi student at Leeds University who was sentenced to 34 years in prison over her use of Twitter, now X, has been released after her sentence was dramatically reduced.

Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two who was arrested in 2021 during a holiday in Saudi Arabia, was convicted in 2022 over her tweets.

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Britain’s system for controlling arms exports is broken, former diplomat claims

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Ex-Foreign Office official says he saw conduct that ‘crossed the threshold into complicity with war crimes’

Britain’s system for controlling arms exports is broken, subject to political manipulation and has seen conduct that crossed the threshold into complicity with war crimes, a former UK diplomat has claimed.

Writing for the Guardian, Mark Smith, who resigned from the Foreign Office in August, said officials were instructed to manipulate findings on the misuse of UK arms by allies, and if they did not do so, their reports were edited by senior colleagues to give the impression that the UK was in compliance with the law.

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UN chief warns against ‘ethnic cleansing’ after Trump’s Gaza proposal

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President’s plan for US to take over Gaza Strip and move Palestinians out also rejected by allies Saudi Arabia and Jordan

Donald Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza was met with anger and blunt rejection from regional allies, delight from Israel’s far right and a warning against “ethnic cleansing” from the head of the UN.

The secretary general, António Guterres, planned to tell a UN meeting on Wednesday that “it is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing” after the US president said he wanted to “own” Gaza and resettle its Palestinian residents elsewhere.

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Syrian leader meets Saudi crown prince for first official foreign visit

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Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh on trip that highlights reset of regional alliances after end of Iran-backed Assad regime

Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, met the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh on Sunday in his first foreign trip as Syrian leader, in a sign of the major shifts under way in regional alliances.

Sharaa assumed power as transitional president last week, after leading a rebel campaign that ousted the longtime Iran-backed leader Bashar al-Assad, whose ties with the rest of the Arab world were strained throughout the nearly 14-year Syrian war.

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Scores killed in hospital attack in Sudan’s besieged El Fasher, says WHO

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About 70 people, including patients, believed to have been killed in attack blamed on rebel Rapid Support Forces

About 70 people have been killed in an attack on the only functional hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher in Sudan, the head of the World Health Organization has said, the latest in a series of attacks as the African nation’s civil war has escalated in recent days.

The attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal hospital was blamed by local officials on the rebel Rapid Support Forces, a group that has recently faced apparent battlefield losses to the Sudanese military and allied forces under the command of army chief Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan.

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Ministers from 17 countries meet for Saudi talks on speeding aid to Damascus

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Riyadh meeting also discussed keeping pressure on Syria’s new leadership to meet commitment to inclusive transition

Ministers from 17 Middle East and western countries have met in Riyadh to discuss how to speed aid to the new Syrian government while keeping pressure on the caretaker leadership to meet its commitment to run an administration representative of all religions and ethnic groups.

The meeting on Sunday came as protesters in Syria called on the west to move faster on lifting economic sanctions, and so persuade more refugees to return from Europe and the states surrounding the country.

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Fifa issues glowing Saudi 2034 World Cup report despite human rights fears

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  • Bid deemed to have medium risk in evaluation report
  • 2034 offering gets higher score from Fifa than 2026 bid

Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid received a higher technical score from Fifa than the 2026 joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico, even though the Middle Eastern nation has yet to construct a number of stadiums proposed for the tournament.

Fifa released its bid evaluation report in the early hours of Saturday morning and said the 2034 bid received an overall average score of 4.2 out of 5, though eight stadiums are still to be built. All venues – including the planned 92,760-seater King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh – will not be completed until 2032, but three new stadiums are expected to be finished for the Asian Cup which kicks off in January 2027.

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Migrant workers face ‘cycle of abuse’ in Saudi Arabia before World Cup, UN told

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  • ITUC-Africa raises ‘severe concerns’ over labour practices
  • Organisation calls on Caf to press Fifa on human rights

A trade union organisation that represents 18 million African workers has submitted a complaint to the United Nations against labour practices in Saudi Arabia. It has called for “immediate and decisive action” with the country poised to be granted World Cup hosting rights next month.

In an account that collates claims of malpractice and abuse alongside testimonies from migrant workers, the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) argues that “the relentless cycle of abuse and exploitation mark the daily existence of African migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.

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Revealed: Saudi Arabia accused of modifying official Cop29 negotiating text

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Exclusive: News of changes to usually non-editable document ‘risks placing climate summit in jeopardy'

A Saudi Arabian delegate has been accused of directly making changes to an official Cop29 negotiating text, it can be revealed.

Cop presidencies usually circulate negotiating texts as non-editable PDF documents to all countries simultaneously, and they are then discussed. Giving one party editing access “risks placing this entire Cop in jeopardy”, one expert said.

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UAE urges countries to honour fossil fuels vow amid Cop29 impasse

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Petrostate’s rebuke comes as Saudi Arabia and allies try to derail transition promise made at climate talks last year

The world must stand behind a historic resolution made last year to “transition away from fossil fuels”, the United Arab Emirates has said, in a powerful intervention into a damaging row over climate action.

The petrostate’s stance will be seen as as a sharp rebuke to its neighbour and close ally Saudi Arabia, which had been trying to unpick the global commitment at UN climate talks in Azerbaijan this week.

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Cop29 climate finance deal hits fresh setback as deadline looms

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Outcry after draft text contains only an ‘X’ instead of setting $1tn funding goal to support developing countries

Hopes of a breakthrough at the deadlocked UN climate talks have been dashed after a new draft of a possible deal was condemned by rich and poor countries.

Faith in the ability of the Azerbaijan presidency to produce a deal ebbed on Thursday morning, as the draft texts were criticised as inadequate and providing no “landing ground” for a compromise.

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Neom CEO departs as Saudi Arabia scales back mega-projects

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No reason given for departure of Nadhmi al-Nasr, longtime CEO of $500bn project launched by Mohammed bin Salman

Nadhmi al-Nasr, the longtime chief executive of the $500bn Saudi development project Neom launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has departed, according to a Neom statement issued on Tuesday that did not give a reason for the departure.

Prince Mohammed has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into development projects through the kingdom’s PIF sovereign wealth fund.

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Trump win is a victory for Netanyahu, but Israeli PM may not get it all his way

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US president-elect has indicated he wants an end to war in Gaza and his position on conflict with Iran remains unclear

The US election result is highly consequential for the Middle East and is first and foremost a win for Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not try to hide his preference for a Trump victory.

The Biden administration had put off imposing any meaningful pressure on the Israeli prime minister until after the election, despite its growing frustration with him on multiple issues: the obstruction of aid into Gaza, his campaign against the UN, his obstruction of a hostage-for-peace deal, and his government’s support for violent West Bank settlers.

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Migrant workers exposed to deadly 45C temperatures in Gulf – report

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Research and undercover interviews reveal reality of extreme heat exacerbated by abusive working conditions

Migrant workers across the Gulf are risking their lives by being forced to work up to 14 hours a day in deadly temperatures, according to human rights researchers.

Equidem, a human rights organisation, interviewed more than 250 migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE between 2021 and May 2024 for a new report on the conditions they were facing including their exposure to extreme heat and long working hours.

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‘It’s created an internal shitstorm’: turmoil at UK law firm accused of ‘whitewashing’ Saudi World Cup report

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Sources say key people at Clifford Chance were not consulted, as it emerges another company refused job due to reputational concerns

When the Saudi crown prince locked nearly 400 of his country’s most powerful people in a luxury hotel in 2017 and stripped them of their fortunes, a UK law firm allegedly played a significant role.

On the orders of Mohammed bin Salman, Clifford Chance - a “magic circle” legal giant with headquarters in London – was reported to have facilitated the forced transfer of assets from a Saudi TV station to the government.

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